Yeah. Something like the first 15 picks are protected. Usually not an issue since they're not the big spenders, but that asshat Werth () had to go and sign with one of the crummy teams.

That is dumb. They're already rewarded once for sucking by getting the high pick in the first place, they shouldn't be doubly rewarded for being terrible by getting to keep their pick when another team would have to give theirs up.

This is one of the situations where I'd really like to know what were the other offers on the table. I mean Werth got paid, good for him, and like everyone else I knew it was a forgone conclusion him in another uniform, but what was the gap between this offer and offers of other teams? It better be quite the amount, or perhaps it was the 7 year length that got him to take the deal.

Still, it would be strange if we found out that he passed up on offers from other contenders over a few million or a couple years here or there. Sure, Werth's got a ring already, but what message does it say to his new teammates if they were to glean from this deal that "he doesn't care anymore about rings, he just wants to get paid?" I hope players like Zimmerman and Morgan don't think in that jaded manner and look on this deal as something along the lines of "hey maybe this guy will be the piece to turn us around."

Nats could get better in the next few years, as long as Strasburg gets healthy and stays that way when he comes back from Tommy John, so they may contend, but chances are it won't be within the next 2 or so years in my opinion. Will Jayson still be a factor then?

On a somewhat related note, I was at the National's ballpark a few months ago to watch the Phils clinch the NL East. It's a pretty nice park and I suggest if anyone hasn't been and is planning on making trips to ballparks in the near future, check this one out. Fair warning though, I said it's a nice park, the neighborhood isn't all that great and the prices on concessions are somewhat steeper than most parks I've been to.

Stark tweeted that it was a big enough gap that Boras didn't even bother to ask any of the other bidders if they'd like to match. Still, I'm with Jester; I'd take $80 million from Boston or the Angels or whatever over $127 million from the Nats.

Best wishes to the guy, I am wondering if the other money just wasn't quite there.

LAA - Desperately want Crawford.

Bosox - Seeing as they don't want to go past 6 years on A-Gon (who is 28 and plays LB), maybe they didn't want to go 5 or 6 with Werth considering he's 31 and a lot of his value comes from him being an outstanding fielder.

Yanks - Who the hell knows? Seems like they're more focused on Lee and they just handed out 80 mill to 2 aging players already.

So maybe this was the best option for Werth, but competitively, what a huge downgrade for the next couple years.

I mean, sure the Nats will be good eventually, but considering Strasburg just lost 18 months off his development, it could be a while.

Stark tweeted that it was a big enough gap that Boras didn't even bother to ask any of the other bidders if they'd like to match. Still, I'm with Jester; I'd take $80 million from Boston or the Angels or whatever over $127 million from the Nats.

Agreed. Id much rather win and make a little less money then know that my team is out of the playoffs come July

Unless they can find a taker for Ibanez, we're going to be looking at possibly two platoon situations... with them bringing in someone like Diaz/Francoeur to go along with Francisco. Platoon situations can be dicey given the divided ABs, but they can also pay huge dividends when they play out well.

I think Brown is gone; they will move him to get a right handed bat. They MUST get a right handed hitter to bat fifth behind Howard. MUST.

They are going to need someone who can produce who they don't have to pay for a few years. Werth's struggles with RISP didn't make him the greatest candidate to hit behind Howard either, though I wish he were here instead of Ibanez.

Come on, just give management the benefit of the doubt on this. If Charlie sees something in Frenchy and wants to work with him, I think that's worth a shot. He's still young and definitely represents the "youth" Amaro wants to infuse into the organization. If you think about it, maybe they will try to do for Frenchy's career what they did for Werth's.

He hit LH's very well last season AND had his best month in September, when it matters the most. Also, he has a fantastic arm so even when he doesn't start a game he can be a defensive sub for Ibanez late in games.

Charlie said that he can fix his swing. I honestly would be surprised if we don't sign him this season.

Come on, just give management the benefit of the doubt on this. If Charlie sees something in Frenchy and wants to work with him, I think that's worth a shot. He's still young and definitely represents the "youth" Amaro wants to infuse into the organization. If you think about it, maybe they will try to do for Frenchy's career what they did for Werth's.

This.

Quote:

Originally Posted by agrudez

Francouer makes so much sense it hurts.

He is a cheap, young, high upside player who plays a Philadelphia game (hard worker).

He hit LH's very well last season AND had his best month in September, when it matters the most. Also, he has a fantastic arm so even when he doesn't start a game he can be a defensive sub for Ibanez late in games.

Charlie said that he can fix his swing. I honestly would be surprised if we don't sign him this season.

Followed by this.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Timonen

I want Crawford in the worst way. But I doubt the Phils spend the money. Or the best player in MLB history Cody Ross

He suggests trying to get Mike Morse from the Nationals, now that they've signed Werth. It makes way too much sense for the Phillies, they should at least pursue it. If you've watched Morse at all (I live in DC and caught some Nats games aside from the ones they played against us), you see he has a lot of similarities to Werth, both in build and hitting ability. He definitely fits the bill as a RH power bat (who plays RF!) to protect Utley and Howard. While Morse is not as patient as Jayson at the plate, he strikes out less* and has comparable pop/power. He hits some absolute bombs that would remind you of the sound heard when Jayson Werth's bat made perfect contact with the baseball. I'd be all for getting Morse, and it'd be a really shrewd (and probably under-the-radar) move on Amaro's part. It's that exact kind of thinking that Pat Gillick exercised when he first got here and started building a winner. It's what led him to sign Jayson Werth, and it's a big reason why he built a championship team.

*(1 in every 3.1 AB for Morse to 1 in every 4.26 AB for Werth, based on the above numbers)

Morse: 6'5" 230
Werth: 6'5" 222

And it's not like Morse is some slouch athlete, either. He might not be quite the athlete that Werth is (few players are), and he certainly doesn't run like him, but he has a long, rangy body and isn't a plodding liability on the bases. Might as well throw in that Morse has a plus arm, too.

Curious, will Francouer probably with the Phillies be at least as good as Werth and maybe a better arm than him?

No one the Phillies bring in will even be a starter, they will be a platoon player with Brown and possibly also with Ibanez. Also, this platoon will fail to produce, combined over 162 games, that Werth would have.

That is not to say they won't come close enough to see why spending 18M+/season on Werth would have been ********, though.

The only position you should spend huge money on in baseball is a pitcher and at least one non first baseman power hitter (because even the worst first baseman can pop 20+ HRs a season - which is why spending money at 1B is generally dumb). Even if every fielder is replaced by career journeymen your team average would really only dip .020 or so.

He suggests trying to get Mike Morse from the Nationals, now that they've signed Werth. It makes way too much sense for the Phillies, they should at least pursue it. If you've watched Morse at all (I live in DC and caught some Nats games aside from the ones they played against us), you see he has a lot of similarities to Werth, both in build and hitting ability. He definitely fits the bill as a RH power bat (who plays RF!) to protect Utley and Howard. While Morse is not as patient as Jayson at the plate, he strikes out less* and has comparable pop/power. He hits some absolute bombs that would remind you of the sound heard when Jayson Werth's bat made perfect contact with the baseball. I'd be all for getting Morse, and it'd be a really shrewd (and probably under-the-radar) move on Amaro's part. It's that exact kind of thinking that Pat Gillick exercised when he first got here and started building a winner. It's what led him to sign Jayson Werth, and it's a big reason why he built a championship team.

*(1 in every 3.1 AB for Morse to 1 in every 4.26 AB for Werth, based on the above numbers)

Morse: 6'5" 230
Werth: 6'5" 222

And it's not like Morse is some slouch athlete, either. He might not be quite the athlete that Werth is (few players are), and he certainly doesn't run like him, but he has a long, rangy body and isn't a plodding liability on the bases. Might as well throw in that Morse has a plus arm, too.